Half Marathon

I nearly forgot to post that I finished my 2nd half marathon. I ran with some gals from our church's running group this summer. We all having matching shirts that say, "Pray Continually 1 Thel. 5:17". The course brought us through Jersey City and along the Hudson River. It was beautiful! We even had a view of Lady Liberty. Here we are before the race (after the race wasn't such a pretty picture).  I know I look a little silly with my super water bottle belt, but I was so glad to have it. It was a hot and humid day and I drank all of my water along the way plus some gatorade at the water stations.

Good-bye Training Wheels

The Handsome Man successfully graduated to his two-wheeler today. No more training wheels!  Here he comes down the street. You can see Ben in the background. He only had to run alongside him once and then he was good to go.

There he goes back down the side walk. His favorite thing to do is ride on the grass; you can't do that well with training wheels. It's a new freedom for a five year old.

One member of his cheering squad. We were all so excited for him (especially since he tried once this summer and was quite ready so we had to put the training wheels back on).

Ran Running

Ben and I both really enjoy running. I started running in college when I no longer had time to go to the gym. I never ran competively. Even now, I run in races, but I only try to beat my own time...no one else's. Ben readily admits that he started after coming to my first race. He liked the positive atmosphere of a race and decided he wanted in too. 

We helped co-lead a running group at our church again this wummer, and last week we had our annual race day together. Here's the Ran Clan before the race. It was very chilly.

I'm not a fast runner, but I enjoy running long distances. I ran the 10K (which is 6.2 miles).  Here's me with one on my good friends and running partners before the race. No after race pictures were taken. :)

Ben, on the other hand, is a really fast runner. He ran the 5K race (3.1 miles) in 19 minutes and 45 seconds. That's just a crazy pace. His goal was to finish in under 21 minutes.  We spotted him near the end of the race towards the end of the 18th minute. I'll be honest to say that we, his fan club, went totally nuts. Here is after the race. He also came home with a trophy for 2nd place in his age group (and he asked me not to cheer so forcefully that time...I refrained from screaming his name and hollering "You did it!")

Next weekend, I'm running my 2nd half marathon. The goal there is just to finish.  I didn't even bring my camera to my first half marathon in May; I'll try to bring it along this time.

First Day #2

This week the Handsome Man started school. He's returned to his wonderful preschool for an extra year of transitional kindergarten. (He is 5 and could go to kindergarten. But this class gives children an extra year to grow and mature before kindergarten. It's not the right choice for every child, but it was for us in this case.)  We always call it TK so that it's not confusing and not seen as a negative thing. We think giving him an extra year is a gift of time. TK is 5 mornings a week. He was so ready for school and so excited!

Showing off the new backpack...

 

Pictures outside because it was raining! Hooray for sunshine!

And outside his classroom...the "red" room....

The Handsome Man had a great day. He loves his school, his class, his teacher and all his friends.  It's always fun to be the oldest class in the school. :)

Update

****Scroll down or click here for moving day pictures!  And here for first day of school pictures.****

Hello world! We finally have internet access.  So very soon, I'll get to posting some pictures.  We have just about finished the kids' rooms (just waiting on carpet installation). They turned out great and the kids' love their new rooms. 

Hurricane Irene slowed us down a bit. We got water in the basement and lost power for a couple days. Our electrician has had to reschedule twice (once for water in his house and again because it just won't stop raining this week). But we're slowly making progress. We love the new house and neighboorhood, and the longer we're here, the more it feels like home. Pictures coming soon....promise!

First Day of First Grade

The Munchkin started first grade this year. I can't believe she's in school all day!  She was excited about her new school, her new teacher, and her new outfit (thanks, Oma!).

She loves her new school and her teacher.  We live very close to her school and walk most days...even in the rain. :) 

She was nervous when we got to her classroom, but she didn't cry! This is big for us. Really big. I miss her during the day, but I think she's having a good time without me.  The Handsome man starts next week, but he joined in for a first day picture with his sister.